Golf club head with flexible face

ABSTRACT

A golf club head includes a front member and a rear member. The rear member has a neck, and the front member has a face and a flexible portion projected from a top of a back side of the face. The front member is connected to the rear member to form the golf club head with the flexible portion as at least a part of a crown of the golf club head.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a golf club, and more particularly to a golf club head, which a face thereof is leaned backward when it hits a ball.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a golf club head, “Loft” is an angle between a face of the golf club head and a vertical plane. The golf club head with greater loft will drive the ball higher and shorter, and the ball runs a shorter distance when it falls to the ground. Such golf club is superior in ball control. The conventional golf club head usually has a fixed loft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a golf club head, which a face thereof is leaned backward when it hit a ball. The face will has a greater loft when it hit the ball to drive the ball higher, and the restoring force of the face will drive the ball further.

According to the objectives of the present invention, a golf club head includes a front member and a rear member. The rear member has a neck, and the front member has a face and a flexible portion projected from a top of a back side of the face. The front member is connected to the rear member to form the golf club head with the flexible portion as at least a part of a crown of the golf club head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along 2-2 line of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along 2-2 line of FIG. 1, showing the face leaned backward; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a golf club head 10 of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a front member 20 and a rear member 30. The golf club head 10 has a neck 11 on the rear member 30. The front member 20 has a face 21 and an annular wall 22 on a back side thereof. The wall 22 is longer a top thereof to form a flexible portion 23. The front member 20 has a protrusion 24 and the rear member 30 has a slot 34 to engage the protrusion 24, and the front member 20 and the rear member 30 is connected together by brazing to form the golf club head 10. The flexible portion 23 forms a whole or a part of a crown of the golf club head 10. In the present invention, the flexible portion 23 is only a part of the crown, and the rest of it is formed by a top portion 33 of the rear member 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the size of the flexible portion 23 may be varied (shown as the dot lines 1 or b). The front member 20 is preferred made of titanium, and a thickness of the flexible portion 23 is preferred less than 1.2 mm, and more preferred less than 1.0 mm. The rear member 30 may be a single unit or combined by two or more pieces. The rear member 30 may be made of stainless steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, or other suitable materials.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the golf club head 10 hits a ball, the impact of the ball exerted on the face 21 will make the flexible portion 23 flexed, and a top side of the face 21 will lean backwards. At this time, a loft of the face 21 is raised to drive the ball higher. After that, the restoring force of the flexible portion 23 will release to drive the ball further.

As shown in FIG. 4, a golf club head 40 of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a front member 50 and a rear member 60. The front member 50, which is made of titanium also, has a bore 51, in which a face plate 52 is fixed by brazing. The face plate 52 is made of β-titanium alloy.

The advantages of the present invention are listed hereunder:

1. The flexible portion gives the face a greater deformation that the face of the present invention has a superior flexibility.

2. The loft of the face is greater when it hit the ball that drives the ball higher.

3. The front member has no neck thereon, which may be made by casting to reduce the cost.

4. The golf club head of the present invention has the front member and the rear member combined by brazing that is contributive to make the front member by casting. It is hard to have a precise size when the front member is made by casting, especially there are many curved portions on the front member. The engagement of the protrusion and the slot will give a greater tolerance in the sizes of the front member and the rear member combined.

5. The front member is made by titanium, which is a light metal, to make the flexible portion with a thinner thickness. It also helps the center of gravity of the golf club head moving to a lower and rear position.

The description above is a few preferred embodiments of the present invention and the equivalence of the present invention is still in the scope of the claim of the present invention. 

1. A golf club head, comprising a front member and a rear member, wherein the rear member has a neck, and the front member has a face and a flexible portion projected from a top of a back side of the face, and the front member is connected to the rear member by brazing to form the golf club head with the flexible portion as at least a part of a crown of the golf club head.
 2. The golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the front member is made of titanium alloy and is made by casting.
 3. The golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the front member has a bore, in which a face plate is fixed to form the face.
 4. The golf club head as defined in claim 2, wherein the flexible portion of the front member has a thickness less than 1.2 mm.
 5. The golf club head as defined in claim 3, wherein the flexible portion of the front member has a thickness less than 1.2 mm.
 6. The golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the front member and the rear member are provided with a protrusion and a slot for engagement. 